Automatic water-heater.



R. HOFFMAN.

AUTOMATIC WATER HEATER.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN.25, 1909.

' 928,757. 7 Patented July 20,1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R. HOFFMAN. AUTOMATIC WATER HEATER. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25, 1909.

PatentedJuly 20, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R. HOFFMAN.

AUTOMATIC WATER HEATER.

'APPLIO'ATION I ,757, m 25 Patented July 20,1909

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

if M I.

RU Di) LPH llO FFMA N "WIS. A

OF ILORAYN. 0310, ESSEGNOR 'iO AMERICAN STOVE COiiiiPhNY, GF ST.

13801 51, A ('GEIORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

iipeoiiication Lettars Patent.

latented July 2%), i908.

.figipiicuitm that. fimz'iuzry 2 mm. Qe'rimi 1%. $7 3,120.

7 om it may wncer'n:

,ioh' rohites to iin rovenio'nts in -r: heaters, an particularly port. to am ziutomittio water heater For taboo, tho hjeo automutiohiiy harttod. when it is drawn from on outlet or supply hiuqet. Water hooters 1 i this purposo have heretofore hooh mtide' iii which the fuel SUPPLY has iz'ohtrolied zuitomatieol y by the suppiy, or by a. thermostat which conti oi'iod the ittei. Supply through variations oi toizigiemturo in the Wait-Jr, or in which both the Water-controlled and the 'thermoutnt controlled fuel supply have been embodied in at single apparatus.

The present invention pertains to an outnmatio' Water heater in which there is a continuously' rotating member u'eiuuted by the.

how at the Water, and this member t-arrie'u means for controlling thev fuel supply according to the, voiume' of water being drown within it predetermined period of time, and

in which the rotating element also provides it foreed draft. for the burner, vrl'ieroh on increased heating ellicieney is obtained, and in Wi'iich' the force or volume of the forceddrgit is; uuioinu'tieullv roguloted uero'rding tothI-J fuel and writer supplies.

in the ncuornpuuying drawings, Figure 1, is a perspective View of an apparatus embodying the present invention. Fig. 2, is it sec-.tiohul View when longitudinal theuppnriitus, partly shown in side elevation. Fig. 3, is a horizontal, sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. Fig. 4, is u vortieul sectional View on the line 4-4 of Fig, 2. Fig. 5, is a vertit'ui, sectional view on the lino 5---5 of Fig. 2 Fig. 6, is ii 'I'ii(2ll, sectional View through the Water motor and its: easing. Fig. 7, is :1 vertical section on the line 7 7 of Fifi. 6. Fig. 8', is u do'tuehed, perspective View oi the fuel su ply governor.

imru that i, itiurfotrit HOFFMAN, it

...ihg to must the water to in which, 1, indicates the easing of any suitable form of .i'ltiPl receptneie through which the Water to lie heated Passes. The re-. ferred form is that of a coi ed pi )e 2 Whit-h is suitably arranged in a easing .i the lower poi tion of which is shown inFig. 2 and is lo outed above the hurher b. This burhe'i may be of ziny desired iOl'Iii, tho foriiii of bUFiY-u11 l Water reeepturle. hero shown heing intended more of a conventional elmrzieter rather than of any purtie'ulur form to Whieh my invention is relu'ted or hiniite'd. The essential feature. of the Witter fecifiiiiifi 2 is that the water should ent'er it, iloiv through it, and out to the source of hot W22 tor supply. As here shown, the Wtttr nters tho heating: tube or rereptucle 2 through a suitable pip'e 4, and passes out through ah outlet 5 to the hot water supply outlet or fuurets it will be understood by those skilled in this art that the fuueei or'i'uuee-ts 6 are located in the (ilhll'fid points in the house, such, for instunee, us the kitchen, laundry, bathroom, laboratory, etc.

A main gas supply 7 is providod, and communirates with a suituhle. housing 8 in Which located any suitable form of orl'ueh Controlling valve 9. 'i he gas or fuel supi'i'lfi' passes from this housing H through :1. suitable pipo H) to the burner 3. The Form of fuel- (rontrolling valve 9 here shown is ihtended to he of a. eonvontional rluiraeter, rather than of any sperilie form, for my improvement is eupahle ol' heing used with other forms of gas or Fuel-eontrolling valves. The

form here shown for the purpose of deserilh ing my invention, which cooperates with o fuel-controlling valve, is oi 11h. reciprocating ty )e, and is udayted to (dose agaiiist a suitahio seat 11, am a spring 12 of uhy desired form is used to norrnal'ly: seat the valve. The tension of this spring may be regulated by m ans of on u .liusting screw-rod 13. This vulvel), us here showruis provided with a stem H whieh projocts through iHHiyiXyOiHl the housing 8, as eloarly shown in Fig. .2.

The ripe 4 through which tho Writer is fed to the heating reeeptiiele or tulle 2, has its opposite end in eomnnirrieution with the easing 15, in which casing a rotating Waiter Whool' or motor E6 of suitslhle! form' is located.

The form here! shown is of the We'll lit-flown impact motor and toirsi'sts 0% & disk or fi hef'l hamon its poriphery at lurality of r'h'tthoft through a pipe 19, and ihrrmghthe inner wall 20 of the jooted against t 1e water motor forpose of rotating it.

in operation. when waiter'is drawn from passage-Way l8, and is prot-he purany of the hot water faucets 6, it is (-uusod to llov; through the water motor and rouse it to rotate as it passes to tho \\'ator-lioating roeeptaclo or tuho 2, so that the drawing of water from any of thihot water lain-t ts ('EJUSI'S the motor to rotate, and tho rotation with the adjacent and of tho rod 29 and forces the rod outwartil against the stem 14 of the iuela-optrolling vuivo 9, which unsoats the valvo f! and permits-the gzis to llow to the hurner. 'lhe humor is lighted hytho well known pilot light (not shown), and the water as it passes through the. (Oil or reoeptuele 2 is heatod. motor is caused to revolve rapidly and the halls or Wrights 24 will he thrown outward to the. limit of thoir outward movement, and

l the iuel-i-ontrolling valve. 9 will ho wide open,

of this motor opens up or unseots thev gas or l the mughts are not thrown so far out, so that Mel-controlling valve 9 in a manner uhirh will now he oxplained.

l lo/cured to the mo or H5 is a. governor shaft 2!, and this shall earries a gm'eruor (to he presently explained) Willl'i) r-nilll'iils the opening and closing ol' the fuel or gaseomrollod valve 9. Any suitable form of centrifugally-oporated governor may he us d for rontrolling the gas or fuel valve 5). "l he form here shown for aeoomplishing, this consists of the arms 22 which are pivoted at one of their ends to a suitable Moss-head 23 which is altarhed to and ri-volvod l1 thr motor iii. -'l he outer ends ol' these arms 22 Y the gas valve .l is io'nly partially the faucet.

are connected with a ero.-=--head .25 whit-h revolves with the governor-shaft 2i, hut is rapahlo of hoi lg reciproi-ated thereonv [his moss-head 25 has a suitable sleeve 26, and passing through this sloevo and through u slot 27 in the governor shall 2!, is a pin 28. The governor shaft 2! is hollow beginning at about the eross-head 23, and from that point to its 0 posite end. Passing loosely through tho hollow portion of the gm'erhonshal't is a rod 29 whirls has its 'ond projwting beyond the mid of the hollow govvrnor-shal't, and adnptod to engage the )rojertin'; end H of the i'i1ol-i-ontrolling valve stem. while the opposite end of lho rod rests against the rross-piu 28. For oonv'enienro the hollow portion of the go ornor-shal't is designated by the numeral 2 and'thv ond ihereot' is suitahly journaied in a hearing 3!.

'lho operation of the governor is'as l'ol lows:-u'hen any of the l'aurots f) is open water is caused to flow through thcinotor if and oouso it to rotate. armor-shaft 21 and 21 is caused to rotate, and

in turn, the gov carries with it the governor previously described The rotation of tho governor-shalt causes the balls or weights 24 to ho cootrit'ugoilythrown out, and'this outward movement 5 of. is. 6 balls causes tho cross-head 25 to ho moved through the inediunrof the links 32 Wl'iioh have their ends pivoted respectively to the ends of tholorws-head and to the weights. 'lhis movement of the cross-head earrivs the (cross-pin 2% in eng'ogi-mezii,

so that a full supply of fuel posses to the burner. if, on the otlur hand, tho faucet is only partly opened, the motor and tho governor-shaft I' .'Hl\'i' ('orrespondingly slow and ioened and there is only a partial supply of l ueljg tin o burner. 'l he sup )l of water to the m't'iior will he so adjusted that when the faucet fi is l'ull open there will he a suilieiont supply of fuel and u sullirientheat furnished by the hurnor to lit'tf the water tp the requirei tomperatnrv. 'l'liis l)(lfl adjusted, the supply of fuel and tho heat lurnished lo the burner is automatically eoiiirollod when the wit ter sup? )l is out down to any point between the lul supply and the comp oto rinsing of When the faucet is eomplot'olv i-losod the llow of water through the motor is stop 'ied, whirh ('auses the motor to sto and the overnor-shnit also stops, so that the gas if the l'uurot 6 is opened wido the or fuel-rontrolling valve 5) is no longer held from its sent, hut is seated by tho spring 12 and tho supply oi gas to the burner rompletely rut oil. lrom 'tln- Kort-going, ii wi l H semi thai the amount of fuel supplied lo:

the homer, and thereby iho amount of heatiurnishod hr the humor, is automatirally (:onirolled lo the passage of the water throughthv laueet, which wil prevent an) over-limiting oi the humor, or of the water tuhe or recoptaole 2, and completely ttllLS oil' the burner when tho llo is stopped. it will also he ohsorred that anystirkmg of tho motor, or failure of it to operate. ither when the l'uut'et ii is open or when it is rlosed, will not cause any injury by overheating iho water tuln-s or receptacle, herons-e the instant tho motor ceases to work the governor assumes the position to rouse or permil; the closing of the gas valve, and then-- by completely cuts (iii the supply of fuel to the heater.

For the purpose of permitting ready access to the motor, for tho )urposo of cleaning it or correetiiig any irregularities in its operation.

the outer side. or end Iii) of the motor I'HHI l-fi is removable, sim-e it srrews therein as shows".

at 34, Fig. i, and who]! this is removed a -ress to the motor is at om'e ohtaiu dv For the purpose of regulating hr maximum oul uni-d m vement ol' the weights 24.;1regulntingnul 3:3 is rrew-threalli-d n the outer side of lhe seem? hollow oortion 21 o l" the governor-theft, which tnerotore Will limit the movement of the cross-head 25 and thereby the outward movement of the weights 24, and this move. ment is readily regulated by the turning of the nut 85 on the governor-shalt. As shown in Fig. 7, the removsblo side 33 of the motor case 15 carries an adjustable cone-bearing 3 6 which is adopted to engage :i cones-ewes 37 concentrically made in the motor disk 16, and serves to form it centering bearing for the motor disk.

The water motor in addition to controlling the fuel supply to the burner through the medium of the governor, already described, also serves to supply the air for the burner 3 by meansof & rotatable which is connected with and driven by the motor through the governor-shaft 21. The air for the burner is therefore conveyed thereto under pressure created by ten W'l'LlOll consti totes it forced. draft, oncl tliiSlZlCiflftSQS the heating e'iiieie oi the burner. The fan elsoiiicreeses the forced draft as the fuel supply is increased, and decreases the forced draft as the fuel supplyis decreased, thus automatically .teer'lirig the fproper amount of [sir are the proper forced dmft ecoordiiig to the itllufv'lfit or fuel feel to the burner, end this lished eutomoticelly by the single namely, the WEfiIGE-"QI'iVG-R motor. as fo ced (ire-ft is presided by the fswsrms which rodiete from the governoeslieft 21, cl tliese tsnrorms ere located in a suitable im liousing 39. This temllousiiig has the inlet openings 40 and i1 through which the sir enters the housing, and it lies the outlet opening 42 which communicates with the burner and with the tool supply 10, so that the sir is mixed with the fuel as it is fed to the -burner and forces the fuel' with the proper amount of air for combustion through the burner, creating, as aforesaid, a forceddreft burner. The fan and its housing conr' stitutes what may be termed a. blower for supplying air to the iuel one carrying the fuel and the air under pressure through the burner. 'lliis blower ellect increases the "setting efiiciency ot the burner, as is well The faster the governor-shaft rotiie wider the or fuel VELlVQQ is open, and the the ten operates the more air is forced to the be! or. Briefly, the fuel sup- .lnl, or set automatically in.-

czee. sml diminished in exact proportion iilifl s to the im "ease snail diminishing of the v l to the burner, zmrl both the torccil draft we the fuel supply are conlltzl by the amount of water which is p ss- U through the heating "coil or receptacle 2, l this in turn is controlled automatically the faucet 6. That is to say, the operator 1 i1 3" 311 turning the faucet 6 simultaneously and automatically rsu the Water motor to control the foclsupply and the on: supply to the humor in proportion to the amount of Walter which is passing through the heater and the faucet.

The essential features of the present invention are capable of being embodied in vs rious mechanical terms, one of which is herein illustrated and described, but i wish it understood that these may bej-vorierl ltl'lll modified without departing from the broad inventive ides.

I Show in Fig. (i the inner well 20 of the motor casing 15 as provider-l with several water outlet passeges i3 wl'iicl'i extend at an angle to direct the escaping water against the retchet slmped pstlal les oi the motor Wheel 16, end one or more of these pesssges may be controlled by an externallyoperated Volvo 4 wliiol'i will enable the eppsratus tobe ocljustecl sccordiog to the water pressure of the locality in which the device is "being used.

Having thus described my invention, wlurt ll claim and desire to secure by Letters Putent, is:-

1. In a raster tester, the combination of e Water receptacle lure an inlet mul an outlet conduit, at booting l no for rece xtsicle, a, fuel supply for the corner, o continuously rotating Wot-er motor in soirl conduit and actuated og; the girls ege oi writer tlicretlirooglt, and mes-ms cont oilesl lay the soirl rotary motor adopted to control the fuel supply according totlie speed of sei-zl motor.

2. A water heater coniprisizig it Water receptacle heving ain inlet end on outlet concluit, a, rotor}; motor one of said conduits, a burner for the said ll BQlJEE,.Et'i LL1-Bl sup ply for said burner, and centriingellymctrmted means com eeterl with the said motor and odaiptexl to act upon said control the fuel supply to the said burner according to the rotary speed of the said motor.

i 3. A Water heater comprisin' s water receptacle having an inlet and duit, a roter motor in one of sr-iirl conduits, it burner for the seirl heater, a fuel supply for the said burner, it tentriiugally-operoterl governor connected with the Stil motor and adepteclto control the said fuel supply oi the shaft, the governor operetirely connected with the said fuel valve mul itilliPlZZli to open it more or less in proportion to summit of water passing through the soul limiter conduit.

said burner acorn-(lis to the rotary speed oi said motor, 1!, governor corricrl lay the said i an outlet conla sed 0f the motcr.

$1. 11 waizex heater, the combination of a, 1 @tacle having an inlet and an out E roaary Water motor in commusaid cenduies, a burner for said a gassuppiy for the smigl bv rner, gm I .Aswmg :ievlce'm commumcauon wlth i mid burner and opamtiveiy connected with and actugied by .the said motor, and faxes-11s zsmmiied by the rotary motor and 1 (01221111511 the said gas supply.

8. :2, water hestsnthe combination of a WSEJiP-Z yesep'i-acls having aninlet-and an out i ssmluib, a, misting water motmin one of I ssiu conduiis and actuated b the passage of she waste? therethi'bugh, a ums? for said i hesiez, a fuel supply for said burner, a rota table member @pemted 'by the said mqtm, i and & governm' carried by and having a contmiling mnvement independent ofthe said mfi'm'y member and adapted to contrul the fuel supply is the burner according to the Z A heater cnmprising a Water 768- ing an inlet and an nutiet 00nmn'bor in communicatiun with miduismid actuated by the pastharethrough, a rotatable? mnneatsd with and actuated by the $12 51 suppiy controller and an U BFiiEG for the bumr, the fuel am tins blower both being can: N actuaisdi by thesaid maimei' supply and the my supply swims auematicefiy csns mlled ials said mama. v may csmprisinga watermm! mist and 1m- (milet (551% wst ar mowr in mm 0f the 0011 wsat-sti fiy the flow of water h, heating burner for said-re- 5 heating burner for the "rsse tam a.

a heating burner ed in span the iwiepemlsm valve 03 9. A water hearts} comprising a receptacle having an inlet and mallet csnduit, i5, 'mtsry nwtm' is: ans 1 five condu actuated by the. Fimv 0i watex' i-heretilr supfiiy for the burner, 1 izi mtmilin a A the fuel supply mm indepen' muwr, and mi-atble 2,114 l fil il armor for he said wivc schmizsd 3; motor.

(:eptacie inving i fis i a I'Qtm'y 11102101 in ated by the flaw heming bumsi' 623f "if. G.

said bums-r, s 

